This short piece presents the case of Pabellón, a former mining town located in northern Chile. Although mineral processing finished long ago, it left behind a significant amount of highly toxic waste known as tailings, which is currently left abandoned in the vicinity of the town. As a way to bring back such toxins out of oblivion, the article proposes understanding tailings as chemical rubble, a key component of the chemical heritage of former mining activities. Such a notion should force us to care for such materials, both in historical and contemporary terms.